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| Treatise on Christ and Antichrist. PREVIOUS SECTION - NEXT SECTION - HELP
Part II.—Dogmatical and Historical.
Treatise on Christ and
Antichrist.1393
1393
Gallandi, Bibl. vet. Patr., ii. p. 417, Venice,
1765. |
1. As it was your desire, my beloved brother
Theophilus,1394
1394
Perhaps the same Theophilus whom Methodius, a contemporary of
Hippolytus, addresses as Epiphanius. [See vol. vi., this
series.] From this introduction, too, it is clear that they are
in error who take this book to be a homily. (Fabricius.) | to be
thoroughly informed on those topics which I put summarily before you, I
have thought it right to set these matters of inquiry clearly forth to
your view, drawing largely from the Holy Scriptures themselves as from
a holy fountain, in order that you may not only have the pleasure of
hearing them on the testimony of men,1395
1395 In
the text the reading is τῶν
ὄντων, for which τῶν ὤτων
= of the ears, is proposed by some, and ἀνθρώπων = of
men, by others. In the manuscripts the abbreviation
ανων is often
found for ἀνθρώπων. | but may also be able, by surveying them
in the light of (divine) authority, to glorify God in all. For
this will be as a sure supply furnished you by us for your journey in
this present life, so that by ready argument applying things ill
understood and apprehended by most, you may sow them in the ground of
your heart, as in a rich and clean soil.1396
1396 In
the text we find ὡς πίων καθαρὰ
γῆ, for which grammar requires ὡς
πίονι
καθαρᾷ γῇ.
Combefisius proposes ὡσπερ οὖν
καθαρᾷ γῆ =
as in clean ground. Others would read ὡς πυρόν, etc., = like a
grain in clean ground. | By these, too, you will be able to
silence those who oppose and gainsay the word of salvation. Only
see that you do not give these things over to unbelieving and
blasphemous tongues, for that is no common danger. But impart
them to pious and faithful men, who desire to live holily and
righteously with fear. For it is not to no purpose that the
blessed apostle exhorts Timothy, and says, “O Timothy, keep that
which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings,
and oppositions of science falsely so called; which some professing
have erred concerning the faith.”1397 And again, “Thou therefore,
my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the
things that thou hast heard of me in many exhortations, the same commit
thou to faithful men,1398
1398
This reading, παρακλήσεων
for μαρτύρων (=
witnesses), which is peculiar to Hippolytus alone, is all the more
remarkable as so thoroughly suiting Paul’s meaning in the
passage. | who shall be able to teach others
also.”1399 If, then,
the blessed (apostle) delivered these things with a pious caution,
which could be easily known by all, as he perceived in the spirit that
“all men have not faith,”1400 how much greater will be our danger, if,
rashly and without thought, we commit the revelations of God to profane
and unworthy men?
2. For as the blessed prophets were made, so
to speak, eyes for us, they foresaw through faith the mysteries of the
word, and became ministers of these1401
1401 The text
reads ἅτινα = which. Gudius proposes
τινά =
some. | things also to succeeding generations, not
only reporting the past, but also announcing the present and the
future, so that the prophet might not appear to be one only for the
time being, but might also predict the future for all generations, and
so be reckoned a (true) prophet. For these fathers were furnished
with the Spirit, and largely honoured by the Word Himself; and just as
it is with instruments of music, so had they the Word always, like the
plectrum,1402
1402 The
plectrum was the instrument with which the lyre was struck. The
text is in confusion here. Combefisius corrects it, as we render
it, ὀργάνων
δίκην
ἡνωμένον
ἔχοντες ἐν
ἑαυτοῖς. | in union with
them, and when moved by Him the prophets announced what God
willed. For they spake not of their own power1403 (let there be no mistake as to
that1404
1404 The
text reads μὴ
πλανῶ (= that I may not
deceive). Some propose ὡς
πλάνοι = as deceivers. | ), neither did they
declare what pleased themselves. But first of all they were
endowed with wisdom by the Word, and then again were rightly
instructed in the
future by means of visions. And then, when thus themselves fully
convinced, they spake those things which1405
1405 This is
according to the emendation of Combefisius. [And note this
primitive theory of inspiration as illustrating the words, “who
spake by the prophets,” in the Nicene Symbol.] | were revealed by God to them alone, and
concealed from all others. For with what reason should the
prophet be called a prophet, unless he in spirit foresaw the
future? For if the prophet spake of any chance event, he would
not be a prophet then in speaking of things which were under the eye of
all. But one who sets forth in detail things yet to be, was
rightly judged a prophet. Wherefore prophets were with good
reason called from the very first “seers.”1406 And hence
we, too, who are rightly instructed in what was declared aforetime by
them, speak not of our own capacity. For we do not attempt to
make any change one way or another among ourselves in the words that
were spoken of old by them, but we make the Scriptures in which these
are written public, and read them to those who can believe rightly; for
that is a common benefit for both parties: for him who speaks, in
holding in memory and setting forth correctly things uttered of
old;1407
1407 In the
text it is προκείμενα
(= things before us or proposed to us), for which Combefisius proposes,
as in our rendering, προειρημένα. | and for him who
hears, in giving attention to the things spoken. Since, then, in
this there is a work assigned to both parties together, viz., to him
who speaks, that he speak forth faithfully without regard to
risk,1408
1408 The
original is ἀκινδυνον. | and to him who
hears, that he hear and receive in faith that which is spoken, I
beseech you to strive together with me in prayer to God.
3. Do you wish then to know in what manner
the Word of God, who was again the Son of God,1409
1409
Isa. xlii. 1; Matt. xii.
18. The text is
αὐτὸς
πάλιν ὁ τοῦ
θεοῦ παῖς.
See Macarius, Divinitas D. N. S. C., book iv. ch. xiii. p. 460,
and Grabe on Bull’s Defens. Fid. Nic., p. 101. | as He was of old the Word, communicated His
revelations to the blessed prophets in former times? Well, as the
Word shows His compassion and His denial of all respect of persons by
all the saints, He enlightens them1410
1410 Reading
αὐτούς for αὐτόν. | and adapts them to that which is
advantageous for us, like a skilful physician, understanding the
weakness of men. And the ignorant He loves to teach, and the
erring He turns again to His own true way. And by those who live
by faith He is easily found; and to those of pure eye and holy heart,
who desire to knock at the door, He opens immediately. For He
casts away none of His servants as unworthy of the divine
mysteries. He does not esteem the rich man more highly than the
poor, nor does He despise the poor man for his poverty. He does
not disdain the barbarian, nor does He set the eunuch aside as no
man.1411 He does not
hate the female on account of the woman’s act of disobedience in
the beginning, nor does He reject the male on account of the
man’s transgression. But He seeks all, and desires to save
all, wishing to make all the children of God, and calling all the
saints unto one perfect man. For there is also one Son (or
Servant) of God, by whom we too, receiving the regeneration through the
Holy Spirit, desire to come all unto one perfect and heavenly
man.1412
4. For whereas the Word of God was without
flesh,1413
1413 The
text has ὤν = being, for which read ἦν =
was. | He took upon
Himself the holy flesh by the holy Virgin, and prepared a robe which He
wove for Himself, like a bridegroom, in the sufferings of the cross, in
order that by uniting His own power with our mortal body, and by
mixing1414
1414
μίξας. Thomassin,
De Incarnatione Verbi, iii. 5, cites the most distinguished of
the Greek and Latin Fathers, who taught that a mingling
(commistio), without confusion indeed, but yet most thorough, of
the two natures, is the bond and nexus of the personal
unity. | the incorruptible
with the corruptible, and the strong with the weak, He might save
perishing man. The web-beam, therefore, is the passion of the
Lord upon the cross, and the warp on it is the power of the Holy
Spirit, and the woof is the holy flesh wrought (woven) by the Spirit,
and the thread is the grace which by the love of Christ binds and
unites the two in one, and the combs or (rods) are the Word; and the
workers are the patriarchs and prophets who weave the fair, long,
perfect tunic for Christ; and the Word passing through these, like the
combs or (rods), completes through them that which His Father
willeth.1415
1415
[This analogy of weaving is powerfully employed by Gray
(“Weave the warp, and weave the woof,” etc.). See his
Pindaric ode, The Bard.] |
5. But as time now presses for the consideration
of the question immediately in hand, and as what has been already said
in the introduction with regard to the glory of God, may suffice, it is
proper that we take the Holy Scriptures themselves in hand, and find
out from them what, and of what manner, the coming of Antichrist is; on
what occasion and at what time that impious one shall be revealed; and
whence and from what tribe (he shall come); and what his name is, which
is indicated by the number in the Scripture; and how he shall work
error among the people, gathering them from the ends of the earth; and
(how) he shall stir up tribulation and persecution against the saints;
and how he shall glorify himself as God; and what his end shall be; and
how the sudden appearing of the Lord shall be revealed from heaven; and
what the conflagration of the whole world shall be; and what the
glorious and heavenly kingdom of the saints is to be, when they reign
together with Christ; and what the punishment of the wicked by
fire.
6. Now,
as our Lord Jesus Christ, who is also God, was prophesied of under the
figure of a lion,1416 on account of
His royalty and glory, in the same way have the Scriptures also
aforetime spoken of Antichrist as a lion, on account of his tyranny and
violence. For the deceiver seeks to liken himself in all things
to the Son of God. Christ is a lion, so Antichrist is also a
lion; Christ is a king,1417
so Antichrist is also a king. The Saviour was manifested as a
lamb;1418 so he too, in
like manner, will appear as a lamb, though within he is a wolf.
The Saviour came into the world in the circumcision, and he will come
in the same manner. The Lord sent apostles among all the nations,
and he in like manner will send false apostles. The Saviour
gathered together the sheep that were scattered abroad,1419 and he in like
manner will bring together a people that is scattered abroad. The
Lord gave a seal to those who believed on Him, and he will give one in
like manner. The Saviour appeared in the form of man, and he too
will come in the form of a man. The Saviour raised up and showed
His holy flesh like a temple,1420
and he will raise a temple of stone in Jerusalem. And his
seductive arts we shall exhibit in what follows. But for the
present let us turn to the question in hand.
7. Now the blessed Jacob speaks to the
following effect in his benedictions, testifying prophetically of our
Lord and Saviour: “Judah, let thy brethren praise
thee: thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy
father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a
lion’s whelp: from the shoot, my son, thou art gone
up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lion’s
whelp; who shall rouse him up? A ruler shall not depart from
Judah, nor a leader from his thighs, until he come for whom it is
reserved; and he shall be the expectation of the nations. Binding
his ass to a vine, and his ass’s colt to the vine tendril; he
shall wash his garment in wine, and his clothes in the blood of the
grapes. His eyes shall be gladsome as with wine, and his teeth
shall be whiter than milk.”1421
8. Knowing, then, as I do, how to explain
these things in detail, I deem it right at present to quote the words
themselves. But since the expressions themselves urge us to speak
of them. I shall not omit to do so. For these are truly divine
and glorious things, and things well calculated to benefit the
soul. The prophet, in using the expression, a lion’s
whelp, means him who sprang from Judah and David according to the
flesh, who was not made indeed of the seed of David, but was conceived
by the (power of the) Holy Ghost, and came forth1422
1422 The
text has τούτου—προερχομένου,
for which we read, with Combefisius, προερχόμενον. | from the holy shoot of earth. For
Isaiah says, “There shall come forth a rod out of the root of
Jesse, and a flower shall grow up out of it.”1423 That which is called by Isaiah a
flower, Jacob calls a shoot. For first he shot forth, and
then he flourished in the world. And the expression, “he
stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lion’s whelp,”
refers to the three days’ sleep (death, couching) of Christ; as
also Isaiah says, “How is faithful Sion become an harlot! it was
full of judgment; in which righteousness lodged (couched); but now
murderers.”1424 And
David says to the same effect, “I laid me down (couched) and
slept; I awaked: for the Lord will sustain me;”1425 in which words he
points to the fact of his sleep and rising again. And Jacob says,
“Who shall rouse him up?” And that is just what David
and Paul both refer to, as when Paul says, “and God the Father,
who raised Him from the dead.”1426
9. And in saying, “A ruler shall not depart
from Judah, nor a leader from his thighs, until he come for whom it is
reserved; and he shall be the expectation of the nations,” he
referred the fulfilment (of that prophecy) to Christ. For He is
our expectation. For we expect Him, (and) by faith we behold Him
as He comes from heaven with power.
10. “Binding his ass to a
vine:” that means that He unites His people of the
circumcision with His own calling (vocation). For He was the
vine.1427
“And his ass’s colt to the vine-tendril:” that
denotes the people of the Gentiles, as He calls the circumcision and
the uncircumcision unto one faith.
11. “He shall wash his garment in
wine,” that is, according to that voice of His Father which came
down by the Holy Ghost at the Jordan.1428
1428 The
text gives simply, τὴν
τοῦ ἁγίου,
etc., = the paternal voice of the Holy Ghost, etc. As this
would seem to represent the Holy Ghost as the Father of Christ,
Combefisius proposes, as in our rendering, κατὰ τὴν
διὰ τοῦ
ἁγίου, etc. The
wine, therefore, is taken as a figure of His deity, and
the garment as a figure of His humanity; and the sense would be,
that He has the latter imbued with the former in a way peculiar to
Himself—even as the voice at the Jordan declared Him to be the
Father’s Son, not His Son by adoption, but His own Son,
anointed as man with divinity itself. | “And his clothes in the
blood of the grape.” In the blood of what grape, then, but
just His own flesh, which hung upon the tree like a cluster of
grapes?—from whose side also flowed two streams, of blood and
water, in which the nations are washed and purified, which (nations) He
may be supposed to have as a robe about Him.1429
12. “His
eyes gladsome with wine.” And what are the eyes of Christ
but the blessed prophets, who foresaw in the Spirit, and announced
beforehand, the sufferings that were to befall Him, and rejoiced in
seeing Him in power with spiritual eyes, being furnished (for their
vocation) by the word Himself and His grace?
13. And in saying, “And his teeth (shall be)
whiter than milk,” he referred to the commandments that proceed
from the holy mouth of Christ, and which are pure (purify) as milk.
14. Thus did the Scriptures preach
before-time of this lion and lion’s whelp. And in like
manner also we find it written regarding Antichrist. For Moses
speaks thus: “Dan is a lion’s whelp, and he shall
leap from Bashan.”1430 But that no one may err by supposing
that this is said of the Saviour, let him attend carefully to the
matter. “Dan,” he says, “is a lion’s
whelp;” and in naming the tribe of Dan, he declared clearly the
tribe from which Antichrist is destined to spring. For as Christ
springs from the tribe of Judah, so Antichrist is to spring from the
tribe of Dan.1431
1431 [See
Irenæus, vol. i. p. 559. Dan’s name is excepted in
Rev. vii., and this was always assigned as
the reason. The learned Calmet (sub voce Dan) makes a
prudent reflection on this idea. The history given in
Judg. xviii. is more to the purpose.] | And that
the case stands thus, we see also from the words of Jacob:
“Let Dan be a serpent, lying upon the ground, biting the
horse’s heel.”1432 What, then, is meant by the
serpent but Antichrist, that deceiver who is mentioned in
Genesis,1433 who deceived
Eve and supplanted Adam (πτερνίσας,
bruised Adam’s heel)? But since it is necessary to prove
this assertion by sufficient testimony, we shall not shrink from the
task.
15. That it is in reality out of the tribe
of Dan, then, that that tyrant and king, that dread judge, that son of
the devil, is destined to spring and arise, the prophet testifies when
he says, “Dan shall judge his people, as (he is) also one tribe
in Israel.”1434 But
some one may say that this refers to Samson, who sprang from the tribe
of Dan, and judged the people twenty years. Well, the prophecy
had its partial fulfilment in Samson, but its complete fulfilment is
reserved for Antichrist. For Jeremiah also speaks to this
effect: “From Dan we are to hear the sound of the swiftness
of his horses: the whole land trembled at the sound of the
neighing, of the driving of his horses.”1435 And another prophet says:
“He shall gather together all his strength, from the east even to
the west. They whom he calls, and they whom he calls not, shall
go with him. He shall make the sea white with the sails of his
ships, and the plain black with the shields of his armaments. And
whosoever shall oppose him in war shall fall by the
sword.”1436
1436
Perhaps from an apocryphal book, as also below in ch. liv. | That
these things, then, are said of no one else but that tyrant, and
shameless one, and adversary of God, we shall show in what
follows.
16. But Isaiah also speaks thus:
“And it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed His
whole work upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will punish (visit) the
stout mind, the king of Assyria, and the greatness (height) of the
glory of his eyes. For he said, By my strength will I do it, and
by the wisdom of my understanding I will remove the bounds of the
peoples, and will rob them of their strength: and I will make the
inhabited cities tremble, and will gather the whole world in my hand
like a nest, and I will lift it up like eggs that are left. And
there is no one that shall escape or gainsay me, and open the mouth
and chatter. Shall the axe boast itself without him that heweth
therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself without him that shaketh
(draweth) it? As if one should raise a rod or a staff, and the
staff should lift itself up: and not thus. But the Lord shall
send dishonour unto thy honour; and into thy glory a burning fire shall
burn. And the light of Israel shall be a fire, and shall sanctify
him in flame, and shall consume the forest like grass.”1437
17. And again he says in another
place: “How hath the exactor ceased, and how hath the
oppressor ceased!1438 God
hath broken the yoke of the rulers of sinners, He who smote the people
in wrath, and with an incurable stroke: He that strikes the
people with an incurable stroke, which He did not spare. He
ceased (rested) confidently: the whole earth shouts with
rejoicing. The trees of Lebanon rejoiced at thee, and the cedar
of Lebanon, (saying), Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up
against us. Hell from beneath is moved at meeting thee: all
the mighty ones, the rulers of the earth, are gathered
together—the lords from their thrones. All the kings of the
nations, all they shall answer together, and shall say, And thou, too,
art taken as we; and thou art reckoned among us. Thy pomp is
brought down to earth, thy great rejoicing: they will spread
decay under thee; and the worm shall be thy covering.1439
1439
κατακάλυμμα;
other reading, κατάλειμμα
= remains. | How art thou fallen from heaven, O
Lucifer, son of the morning!1440
1440 Lit.,
that risest early. | He is cast down to the ground who
sends off to all the nations. And thou didst say in thy mind, I
will ascend into heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of
heaven: I will sit down upon the lofty mountains towards the
north: I will ascend above the clouds: I will be
like the Most High. Yet now thou shalt be brought down to hell,
and to the foundations of the earth! They that see thee shall
wonder at thee, and shall say, This is the man that excited the earth,
that did shake kings, that made the whole world a wilderness, and
destroyed the cities, that released not those in prison.1441
1441 The
text gives ἐπαγωγῇ.
Combefisius prefers ἀπαγωγῇ =
trial. | All the
kings of the earth did lie in honour, every one in his own house; but
thou shalt be cast out on the mountains like a loathsome carcase, with
many who fall, pierced through with the sword, and going down to
hell. As a garment stained with blood is not pure, so neither
shalt thou be comely (or clean); because thou hast destroyed my land,
and slain my people. Thou shalt not abide, enduring for ever, a
wicked seed. Prepare thy children for slaughter, for the sins of
thy father, that they rise not, neither possess my
land.”1442
18. Ezekiel also speaks of him to the same
effect, thus: “Thus saith the Lord God, Because thine heart
is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am God, I sit in the seat of God,
in the midst of the sea; yet art thou a man, and not God, (though) thou
hast set thine heart as the heart of God. Art thou wiser than
Daniel? Have the wise not instructed thee in their wisdom?
With thy wisdom or with thine understanding hast thou gotten thee
power, and gold and silver in thy treasures? By thy great wisdom
and by thy traffic1443
1443
i.e., according to the reading, ἐμπορίᾳ. The text is
ἐμπειρίᾳ =
experience. | hast thou increased thy power? Thy
heart is lifted up in thy power. Therefore thus saith the Lord
God: Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God:
behold, therefore I will bring strangers1444
1444 There
is another reading, λιμοὺς (=
famines) τῶν
ἐθνῶν. | upon thee, plagues from the
nations: and they shall draw their swords against thee, and
against the beauty of thy wisdom; and they shall level thy beauty to
destruction; and they shall bring thee down; and thou shalt die by the
death of the wounded in the midst of the sea. Wilt thou yet say
before them that slay thee, I am God? But thou art a man, and
no God, in the hand of them that wound thee. Thou shalt die the
deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I
have spoken it, saith the Lord.”1445
19. These words then being thus presented,
let us observe somewhat in detail what Daniel says in his
visions. For in distinguishing the kingdoms that are to rise
after these things, he showed also the coming of Antichrist in the last
times, and the consummation of the whole world. In expounding the
vision of Nebuchadnezzar, then, he speaks thus: “Thou, O
king, sawest, and behold a great image standing before thy face:
the head of which was of fine gold, its arms and shoulders of silver,
its belly and its thighs of brass, and its legs of iron, (and) its feet
part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest, then, till that a
stone was cut out without hands, and smote the image upon the feet that
were of iron and clay, and brake them to an end. Then were the
clay, the iron, the brass, the silver, (and) the gold broken, and
became like the chaff from the summer threshing-floor; and the strength
(fulness) of the wind carried them away, and there was no place found
for them. And the stone that smote the image became a great
mountain, and filled the whole earth.”1446
20. Now if we set Daniel’s own visions
also side by side with this, we shall have one exposition to give of
the two together, and shall (be able to) show how concordant with each
other they are, and how true. For he speaks thus: “I
Daniel saw, and behold the four winds of the heaven strove upon the
great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse
one from another. The first (was) like a lioness, and had wings
as of an eagle. I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and
it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man,
and a man’s heart was given to it. And behold a second
beast like to a bear, and it was made stand on one part, and it had
three ribs in the mouth of it.1447
1447
Combefisius adds, “between the teeth of it; and they said thus to
it, Arise, devour much flesh.” | I beheld, and lo a beast like a
leopard, and it had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl, and the
beast had four heads. After this I saw, and behold a fourth
beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; it had iron teeth
and claws of brass,1448
1448
Combefisius inserted these words, because he thought that they must
have been in the vision, as they occur subsequently in the explanation
of the vision (v. 19). | which devoured and brake in pieces, and
it stamped the residue with the feet of it; and it was diverse from all
the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I
considered its horns, and behold there came up among them another
little horn, and before it there were three of the first horns plucked
up by the roots; and behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of
man, and a mouth speaking great things.”1449
21. “I beheld till the thrones were set, and
the Ancient of days did sit: and His garment was white as snow,
and the hair of His head like pure wool: His throne was a flame
of fire, His wheels were a burning fire. A stream of fire flowed
before Him. Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten
thousand times ten thousand stood around Him: the judgment was
set, and the books were opened. I beheld then, because of the
voice of the great words which the horn spake, till the beast was slain
and perished, and his body
given to the burning of fire. And the dominion of the other
beasts was taken away.”1450
22. “I saw in the night vision, and,
behold, one like the Son of man was coming with the clouds of heaven,
and came to the Ancient of days, and was brought near before Him.
And there was given Him dominion, and honour, and the kingdom; and all
peoples, tribes, and tongues shall serve Him: His dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall
not be destroyed.”1451
23. Now since these things, spoken as they are
with a mystical meaning, may seem to some hard to understand, we shall
keep back nothing fitted to impart an intelligent apprehension of them
to those who are possessed of a sound mind. He said, then, that a
“lioness came up from the sea,” and by that he meant the
kingdom of the Babylonians in the world, which also was the head of
gold on the image. In saying that “it had wings as of an
eagle,” he meant that Nebuchadnezzar the king was lifted up and
was exalted against God. Then he says, “the wings thereof
were plucked,” that is to say, his glory was destroyed; for he
was driven out of his kingdom. And the words, “a
man’s heart was given to it, and it was made stand upon the feet
as a man,” refer to the fact that he repented and recognised
himself to be only a man, and gave the glory to God.
24. Then, after the lioness, he sees a
“second beast like a bear,” and that denoted the
Persians. For after the Babylonians, the Persians held the
sovereign power. And in saying that there were “three ribs
in the mouth of it,” he pointed to three nations, viz., the
Persians, and the Medes, and the Babylonians; which were also
represented on the image by the silver after the gold. Then
(there was) “the third beast, a leopard,” which meant the
Greeks. For after the Persians, Alexander of Macedon obtained the
sovereign power on subverting Darius, as is also shown by the brass on
the image. And in saying that it had “four wings of a
fowl,” he taught us most clearly how the kingdom of Alexander was
partitioned. For in speaking of “four heads,” he made
mention of four kings, viz., those who arose out of that
(kingdom).1452
1452
See Curtius, x. 10. That Alexander himself divided his
kingdom is asserted by Josephus Gorionides (iii.) and Cyril of
Jerusalem (Catech., 4, De Sacra Scriptura) and
others. | For
Alexander, when dying, partitioned out his kingdom into four
divisions.
25. Then he says: “A fourth
beast, dreadful and terrible; it had iron teeth and claws of
brass.” And who are these but the Romans? which (kingdom)
is meant by the iron—the kingdom which is now established; for
the legs of that (image) were of iron. And after this, what
remains, beloved, but the toes of the feet of the image, in which part
is iron and part clay, mixed together? And mystically by the toes
of the feet he meant the kings who are to arise from among them; as
Daniel also says (in the words), “I considered the beast, and lo
there were ten horns behind it, among which shall rise another (horn),
an offshoot, and shall pluck up by the roots the three (that were)
before it.” And under this was signified none other than
Antichrist, who is also himself to raise the kingdom of the Jews.
He says that three horns are plucked up by the root by him, viz., the
three kings of Egypt, and Libya, and Ethiopia, whom he cuts off in the
array of battle. And he, after gaining terrible power over all,
being nevertheless a tyrant,1453
1453 For
ὅμως = nevertheless, Gudius
suggests ὠμός = savage. |
shall stir up tribulation and persecution against men, exalting himself
against them. For Daniel says: “I considered the
horn, and behold that horn made war with the saints, and prevailed
against them, till the beast was slain and perished, and its body was
given to the burning of fire.”1454
26. After a little space the stone1455 will come from
heaven which smites the image and breaks it in pieces, and subverts all
the kingdoms, and gives the kingdom to the saints of the Most
High. This is the stone which becomes a great mountain, and fills
the whole earth, of which Daniel says: “I saw in the night
visions, and behold one like the Son of man came with the clouds of
heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and was brought near before
Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom;
and all peoples, tribes, and languages shall serve Him: and His
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His
kingdom shall not be destroyed.”1456 He showed all power given by the
Father to the Son,1457
who is ordained Lord of things in heaven, and things on earth, and
things under the earth, and Judge of all:1458 of things in heaven, because He
was born, the Word of God, before all (ages); and of things on earth,
because He became man in the midst of men, to re-create our Adam
through Himself; and of things under the earth, because He was also
reckoned among the dead, preaching the Gospel to the souls of the
saints,1459 (and) by death
overcoming death.
27. As these things, then, are in the
future, and as the ten toes of the image are equivalent to (so many)
democracies,1460
1460
[Deserving of especial note. Who could have foreseen the
universal spirit of democracy in this century save by the light of this
prophecy? Comp. 2 Tim.
iii. 1–3.] | and the ten horns
of the fourth beast
are distributed over ten kingdoms, let us look at the subject a little
more closely, and consider these matters as in the clear light of a
personal survey.1461
28. The golden head of the image and the lioness
denoted the Babylonians; the shoulders and arms of silver, and the
bear, represented the Persians and Medes; the belly and thighs of
brass, and the leopard, meant the Greeks, who held the sovereignty from
Alexander’s time; the legs of iron, and the beast dreadful and
terrible, expressed the Romans, who hold the sovereignty at present;
the toes of the feet which were part clay and part iron, and the ten
horns, were emblems of the kingdoms that are yet to rise; the other
little horn that grows up among them meant the Antichrist in their
midst; the stone that smites the earth and brings judgment upon the
world was Christ.
29. These things, beloved, we impart to you
with fear, and yet readily, on account of the love of Christ, which
surpasseth all. For if the blessed prophets who preceded us did
not choose to proclaim these things, though they knew them, openly and
boldly, lest they should disquiet the souls of men, but recounted them
mystically in parables and dark sayings, speaking thus, “Here is
the mind which hath wisdom,”1462 how much greater risk shall we run in
venturing to declare openly things spoken by them in obscure
terms! Let us look, therefore, at the things which are to befall
this unclean harlot in the last days; and (let us consider) what and
what manner of tribulation is destined to visit her in the wrath of God
before the judgment as an earnest of her doom.
30. Come, then, O blessed Isaiah; arise,
tell us clearly what thou didst prophesy with respect to the mighty
Babylon. For thou didst speak also of Jerusalem, and thy word is
accomplished. For thou didst speak boldly and openly:
“Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; your
land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate as
overthrown by many strangers.1463
1463 For
ὑπὸ πολλῶν
Combefisius has ὑπὸ λαῶν = by
peoples. | The daughter of Sion shall be left
as a cottage in a vineyard, and as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as
a besieged city.”1464 What then? Are not these
things come to pass? Are not the things announced by thee
fulfilled? Is not their country, Judea, desolate? Is not
the holy place burned with fire? Are not their walls cast
down? Are not their cities destroyed? Their land, do not
strangers devour it? Do not the Romans rule the country?
And indeed these impious people hated thee, and did saw thee asunder,
and they crucified Christ. Thou art dead in the world, but thou
livest in Christ.
31. Which of you, then, shall I esteem more
than thee? Yet Jeremiah, too, is stoned. But if I should
esteem Jeremiah most, yet Daniel too has his testimony. Daniel, I
commend thee above all; yet John too gives no false witness. With
how many mouths and tongues would I praise you; or rather the Word who
spake in you! Ye died with Christ; and ye will live with
Christ. Hear ye, and rejoice; behold the things announced by you
have been fulfilled in their time. For ye saw these things
yourselves first, and then ye proclaimed them to all generations.
Ye ministered the oracles of God to all generations. Ye prophets
were called, that ye might be able to save all. For then is one a
prophet indeed, when, having announced beforetime things about to be,
he can afterwards show that they have actually happened. Ye were
the disciples of a good Master. These words I address to you as
if alive, and with propriety. For ye hold already the crown of
life and immortality which is laid up for you in heaven.1465
32. Speak with me, O blessed Daniel.
Give me full assurance, I beseech thee. Thou dost prophesy
concerning the lioness in Babylon;1466 for thou wast a captive there. Thou
hast unfolded the future regarding the bear; for thou wast still in the
world, and didst see the things come to pass. Then thou speakest
to me of the leopard; and whence canst thou know this, for thou art
already gone to thy rest? Who instructed thee to announce these
things, but He who formed1467
1467 For
πλάσας Gudius proposes
ἁγιάσας (sanctified) or
καλέσας (called). | thee in (from) thy mother’s
womb?1468 That is
God, thou sayest. Thou hast spoken indeed, and that not
falsely. The leopard has arisen; the he-goat is come; he hath
smitten the ram; he hath broken his horns in pieces; he hath stamped
upon him with his feet. He has been exalted by his fall; (the)
four horns have come up from under that one.1469 Rejoice, blessed Daniel! thou hast
not been in error: all these things have come to pass.
33. After this again thou hast told me of
the beast dreadful and terrible. “It had iron teeth and
claws of brass: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the
residue with the feet of it.”1470 Already the iron rules; already it
subdues and breaks all in pieces; already it brings all the unwilling
into subjection; already we see these things ourselves. Now we
glorify God, being instructed by thee.
34. But as the task before us was to speak of the
harlot, be thou with us, O blessed Isaiah. Let us mark what thou sayest about
Babylon. “Come down, sit upon the ground, O virgin daughter
of Babylon; sit, O daughter of the Chaldeans; thou shalt no longer be
called tender and delicate. Take the millstone, grind meal, draw
aside thy veil,1471
1471 For
ἀναξύρισον
others read ἀνακάλυψαι =
uncover. | shave the
grey hairs, make bare the legs, pass over the rivers. Thy shame
shall be uncovered, thy reproach shall be seen: I will take
justice of thee, I will no more give thee over to men. As for thy
Redeemer, (He is) the Lord of hosts, the Holy One of Israel is his
name. Sit thou in compunction, get thee into darkness, O daughter
of the Chaldeans: thou shalt no longer be called the strength of
the kingdom.
35. “I was wroth with my people; I
have polluted mine inheritance, I have given them into thine hand: and
thou didst show them no mercy; but upon the ancient (the elders) thou
hast very heavily laid thy yoke. And thou saidst, I shall be a
princess for ever: thou didst not lay these things to thy heart,
neither didst remember thy latter end. Therefore hear now this,
thou that art delicate; that sittest, that art confident, that sayest
in thine heart, I am, and there is none else; I shall not sit as a
widow, neither shall I know the loss of children. But now these
two things shall come upon thee in one day, widowhood and the loss of
children: they shall come upon thee suddenly in thy sorcery, in
the strength of thine enchantments mightily, in the hope of thy
fornication. For thou hast said, I am, and there is none
else. And thy fornication shall be thy shame, because thou hast
said in thy heart, I am. And destruction shall come upon thee,
and thou shalt not know it. (And there shall be) a pit, and
thou shalt fall into it; and misery shall fall upon thee, and thou
shalt not be able to be made clean; and destruction shall come upon
thee, and thou shalt not know it. Stand now with thy
enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, which thou hast
learned from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to be
profited. Thou art wearied in thy counsels. Let the
astrologers of the heavens stand and save thee; let the star-gazers
announce to thee what shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall
all be as sticks for the fire; so shall they be burned, and they shall
not deliver their soul from the flame. Because thou hast coals of
fire, sit upon them; so shall it be for thy help. Thou art
wearied with change from thy youth. Man has gone astray (each
one) by himself; and there shall be no salvation for
thee.”1472 These
things does Isaiah prophesy for thee. Let us see now whether John
has spoken to the same effect.
36. For he sees, when in the isle Patmos, a
revelation of awful mysteries, which he recounts freely, and makes
known to others. Tell me, blessed John, apostle and disciple of
the Lord, what didst thou see and hear concerning Babylon? Arise,
and speak; for it sent thee also into banishment.1473 “And there came one of the
seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto
me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore
that sitteth upon many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have
committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made
drunk with the wine of her fornication. And he carried me away in
the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a
scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads
and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet
colour, and decked with gold, and precious stone,1474 and pearls, having a golden cup in her
hand, full of abominations and filthiness1475
1475
τὰ
ἀκάθαρτα, for the
received ἀκαθαρτότητος. | of the fornication of the earth.
Upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the
Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.
37. “And I saw the woman drunken with
the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of
Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great
admiration. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou
marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the
beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten
horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall
ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they
that dwell on the earth shall wonder (whose name was not written in the
book of life from the foundation of the world) when they behold the
beast that was, and is not, and yet shall be.1476
1476
καὶ
παρέσται, for the
received καίπερ
ἐστί. |
38. “And here is the mind that has
wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman
sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and
one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must
continue a short space. And the beast that was and is not, (even
he is the eighth,) and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received
no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the
beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and
strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and
the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King
of kings; and they that are with
Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
39. “And he saith to me, The waters
which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and
multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which
thou sawest, and1477
1477
καί, for the
received ἐπί. | the beast,
these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and
shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in
their hearts to fulfil His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom
unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And
the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the
kings of the earth.
40. “After these things I saw another
angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was
lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily1478
1478
ἰσχυρᾷ for ἐν
ἰσχύϊ. | with a strong voice, saying, Babylon
the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils,
and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean
and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the
wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed
fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich
through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another
voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not
partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues:
for her sins did cleave even unto heaven,1479
1479
ἐκολλήθησαν,
for the received ἠκολούθησαν. | and God hath remembered her
iniquities.
41. “Reward her even as she rewarded
(you), and double unto her double, according to her works: in the
cup which she hath filled, fill to her double. How much she hath
glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow
give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no
widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come
in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly
burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth
her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication,
and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her,
when they shall see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the
fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas! that great city Babylon, that
mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the
merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man shall
buy their merchandise1480
1480
ἀγοράσει, for the
received ἀγοράζει. |
any more. The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious
stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and
scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all
manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and
marble, and cinnamon, and spices,1481
1481
ἄμωμον, omitted in the received
text. | and odours, and ointments, and
frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts,
and sheep, and goats,1482
1482
καὶ
τράγους, omitted in the
received text. | and horses, and chariots, and slaves
(bodies), and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted
after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and
goodly have perished1483
1483
ἀπώλετο, for the received
ἀπῆλθεν. | from thee, and thou shalt find them no
more at all. The merchants of these things, which were made
rich1484
1484
πλουτίσαντες,
for the received πλουτήσαντες. | by her, shall
stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and
saying, Alas, alas! that great city, that was clothed in fine linen,
and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and
pearls! for in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And
every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as
many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried, when they saw the
smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great
city? And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and
wailing, saying, Alas, alas! that great city, wherein were made rich
all that had ships in the sea by reason of her fatness!1485
1485
πιότητος, for the
received τιμιότητος. | for in one hour
is she made desolate.
42. “Rejoice over her, thou heaven,
and ye angels,1486
1486
καὶ οἱ
ἄγγελοι, which the received
omits. | and
apostles, and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a
mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into
the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be
thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of
harpers and musicians, and of pipers and trumpeters, shall be heard no
more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall
be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard
no more at all in thee; and the light of a candle shall shine no more
at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall
be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great
men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all
that were slain upon the earth.”1487
43. With respect, then, to the particular judgment
in the torments that are to come upon it in the last times by the hand
of the tyrants who shall arise then, the clearest statement has been
given in these passages. But it becomes us further diligently to
examine and set forth the period at which these things shall come to
pass, and how the little horn shall spring up in their midst. For
when the legs of iron have
issued in the feet and toes, according to the similitude of the image
and that of the terrible beast, as has been shown in the above, (then
shall be the time) when the iron and the clay shall be mingled
together. Now Daniel will set forth this subject to us. For
he says, “And one week will make1488
1488
διαθήσει =
will make; others, δυναμώσει
= will confirm. | a covenant with many, and it shall be
that in the midst (half) of the week my sacrifice and oblation shall
cease.”1489 By one
week, therefore, he meant the last week which is to be at the end of
the whole world of which week the two prophets Enoch and Elias will
take up the half. For they will preach 1, 260 days clothed in
sackcloth, proclaiming repentance to the people and to all the
nations.
44. For as two advents of our Lord and
Saviour are indicated in the Scriptures, the one being His first advent
in the flesh, which took place without honour by reason of His being
set at nought, as Isaiah spake of Him aforetime, saying, “We saw
Him, and He had no form nor comeliness, but His form was despised (and)
rejected (lit. = deficient) above all men; a man smitten and familiar
with bearing infirmity, (for His face was turned away); He was
despised, and esteemed not.”1490 But His second advent is announced as
glorious, when He shall come from heaven with the host of angels, and
the glory of His Father, as the prophet saith, “Ye shall see the
King in glory;”1491
and, “I saw one like the Son of man coming with the clouds of
heaven; and he came to the Ancient of days, and he was brought to
Him. And there were given Him dominion, and honour, and glory,
and the kingdom; all tribes and languages shall serve Him: His
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass
away.”1492 Thus also
two forerunners were indicated. The first was John the son of
Zacharias, who appeared in all things a forerunner and herald of our
Saviour, preaching of the heavenly light that had appeared in the
world. He first fulfilled the course of forerunner, and that from
his mother’s womb, being conceived by Elisabeth, in order that to
those, too, who are children from their mother’s womb he might
declare the new birth that was to take place for their sakes by the
Holy Ghost and the Virgin.
45. He, on hearing the salutation addressed
to Elisabeth, leaped with joy in his mother’s womb, recognising
God the Word conceived in the womb of the Virgin. Thereafter he
came forward preaching in the wilderness, proclaiming the baptism of
repentance to the people, (and thus) announcing prophetically salvation
to the nations living in the wilderness of the world. After this,
at the Jordan, seeing the Saviour with his own eye, he points Him out,
and says, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of
the world!”1493 He
also first preached to those in Hades,1494
1494
It was a common opinion among the Greeks, that the Baptist was
Christ’s forerunner also among the dead. See Leo Allatius,
De libris Eccles. Græcorum, p. 303. | becoming a forerunner there when he was
put to death by Herod, that there too he might intimate that the
Saviour would descend to ransom the souls of the saints from the hand
of death.
46. But since the Saviour was the beginning
of the resurrection of all men, it was meet that the Lord alone should
rise from the dead, by whom too the judgment is to enter for the whole
world, that they who have wrestled worthily may be also crowned
worthily by Him, by the illustrious Arbiter, to wit, who Himself first
accomplished the course, and was received into the heavens, and was set
down on the right hand of God the Father, and is to be manifested again
at the end of the world as Judge. It is a matter of course that
His forerunners must appear first, as He says by Malachi and the
angel,1495
1495 Or it
may be, “Malachi, even the messenger.” ᾽Αγγέλου is the reading
restored by Combefisius instead of ᾽Αγγαίου. The words of
the angel in Luke i.
17 (“and the
disobedient to the wisdom of the just”) are thus inserted in the
citation from Malachi; and to that Hippolytus may refer in the addition
“and the angel.” Or perhaps, as Combefisius rather
thinks, the addition simply refers to the meaning of the name Malachi,
viz., messenger. | “I will
send to you Elias the Tishbite before the day of the Lord, the great
and notable day, comes; and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to
the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, lest I
come and smite the earth utterly.”1496 These, then, shall come and
proclaim the manifestation of Christ that is to be from heaven; and
they shall also perform signs and wonders, in order that men may be put
to shame and turned to repentance for their surpassing wickedness and
impiety.
47. For John says, “And I will give
power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two
hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”1497 That is
the half of the week whereof Daniel spake. “These are the
two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the Lord of
the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire will proceed out
of their mouth, and devour their enemies; and if any man will hurt
them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut
heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy; and have power
over waters, to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all
plagues as often as they will. And when they shall have
finished their course and their testimony,” what saith the
prophet? “the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit
shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill
them,”1498 because they
will not give glory to Antichrist. For this is meant by the
little horn that grows up. He, being now elated in heart, begins
to exalt himself, and to glorify himself as God, persecuting the saints
and blaspheming Christ, even as Daniel says, “I considered the
horn, and, behold, in the horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a
mouth speaking great things; and he opened his mouth to blaspheme
God. And that born made war against the saints, and prevailed
against them until the beast was slain, and perished, and his body was
given to be burned.”1499
48. But as it is incumbent on us to discuss
this matter of the beast more exactly, and in particular the question
how the Holy Spirit has also mystically indicated his name by means of
a number, we shall proceed to state more clearly what bears upon
him. John then speaks thus: “And I beheld another
beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns, like a lamb,
and he spake as a dragon. And he exercised all the power of the
first beast before him; and he made the earth and them which dwell
therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was
healed. And he did great wonders, so that he maketh fire come
down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them
that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he had power
to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the
earth, that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound
by a sword and did live. And he had power to give life unto the
image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both
speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the
beast should be killed. And he caused all, both small and great,
rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or
in their forehead; and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had
the mark, the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here
is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of
the beast; for if is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred
threescore and six.”1500
49. By the beast, then, coming up out of the
earth, he means the kingdom of Antichrist; and by the two horns he
means him and the false prophet after him.1501
1501 The text
is simply καὶ
τὸν μετ᾽
αὐτόν = the false prophet after
him. Gudius and Combefisius propose as above, καὶ αὐτόν
τε καὶ τὸν
μετ᾽ αὐτόν, or
μετ᾽
αὐτοῦ = him and the false prophet
with him. | And in speaking of “the horns
being like a lamb,” he means that he will make himself like the
Son of God, and set himself forward as king. And the terms,
“he spake like a dragon,” mean that he is a deceiver, and
not truthful. And the words, “he exercised all the power of
the first beast before him, and caused the earth and them which dwell
therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was
healed,” signify that, after the manner of the law of Augustus,
by whom the empire of Rome was established, he too will rule and
govern, sanctioning everything by it, and taking greater glory to
himself. For this is the fourth beast, whose head was wounded and
healed again, in its being broken up or even dishonoured, and
partitioned into four crowns; and he then (Antichrist) shall with
knavish skill heal it, as it were, and restore it. For this is
what is meant by the prophet when he says, “He will give life
unto the image, and the image of the beast will speak.” For
he will act with vigour again, and prove strong by reason of the laws
established by him; and he will cause all those who will not worship
the image of the beast to be put to death. Here the faith and the
patience of the saints will appear, for he says: “And he
will cause all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead; that no man
might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, the name of the beast, or
the number of his name.” For, being full of guile, and
exalting himself against the servants of God, with the wish to afflict
them and persecute them out of the world, because they give not glory
to him, he will order incense-pans1502
1502
πυρεῖα = censers,
incense-pans, or sacrificial tripods. This offering of incense
was a test very commonly proposed by the pagans to those whose religion
they suspected. | to be set up by all everywhere, that no man
among the saints may be able to buy or sell without first sacrificing;
for this is what is meant by the mark received upon the right
hand. And the word—“in their
forehead”—indicates that all are crowned, and put on a
crown of fire, and not of life, but of death. For in this wise,
too, did Antiochus Epiphanes the king of Syria, the descendant of
Alexander of Macedon, devise measures against the Jews. He, too,
in the exaltation of his heart, issued a decree in those times, that
“all should set up shrines before their doors, and sacrifice, and
that they should march in procession to the honour of Dionysus, waving
chaplets of ivy;” and that those who refused obedience should be
put to death by strangulation and torture. But he also met his
due recompense at the hand of the Lord, the righteous Judge and
all-searching God; for he died eaten up of worms. And if one
desires to inquire into that more accurately, he will find it recorded
in the books of the Maccabees.1503
1503 [Not
referred to as Scripture, but as authentic history.] |
50. But now we shall speak of what is before
us. For such measures will he, too, devise, seeking to afflict
the saints in every way. For the prophet and apostle says:
“Here is wisdom, Let him that hath understanding count the number
of the beast; for it is the number of a man, and his number is six
hundred threescore and six.” With respect to his name, it
is not in our power to explain it exactly, as the blessed John
understood it and was instructed about it, but only to give a
conjectural account of it;1504
1504
ὅσον μόνον
ὑπονοῆσαι. |
for when he appears, the blessed one will show us what we seek to
know. Yet as far as our doubtful apprehension of the matter goes,
we may speak. Many names indeed we find,1505 the letters of which are the equivalent of
this number: such as, for instance, the word Titan,1506
1506
Τειτάν.
Hippolytus here follows his master Irenæus, who in his Contra
Hæres., v. 30, § 3, has the words,“
Titan…et antiquum et fide dignum et
regale…nomen” = Titan…both an ancient and good
and royal…name. [See this series, vol. i. p.
559.] | an ancient and
notable name; or Evanthas,1507
1507
Εὐάνθας, mentioned
also by Irenæus in the passage already referred to. |
for it too makes up the same number; and many others which might be
found. But, as we have already said,1508
1508
προέφθημεν,
the reading proposed by Fabricius instead of προέφημεν. | the wound of the first beast was healed,
and he (the second beast) was to make the image speak,1509
1509
ποιήσει, Combef.
ἐποίησε. | that is to say, he
should be powerful; and it is manifest to all that those who at present
still hold the power are Latins. If, then, we take the name as
the name of a single man, it becomes Latinus. Wherefore we
ought neither to give it out as if this were certainly his name, nor
again ignore the fact that he may not be otherwise designated.
But having the mystery of God in our heart, we ought in fear to keep
faithfully what has been told us by the blessed prophets, in order that
when those things come to pass, we may be prepared for them, and not
deceived. For when the times advance, he too, of whom these thing
are said, will be manifested.1510
51. But not to confine ourselves to these
words and arguments alone, for the purpose of convincing those who love
to study the oracles of God, we shall demonstrate the matter by many
other proofs. For Daniel says, “And these shall escape out
of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of
Ammon.”1511 Ammon and
Moab1512 are the children
born to Lot by his daughters, and their race survives even now.
And Isaiah says: “And they shall fly in the boats of
strangers, plundering the sea together, and (they shall spoil) them of
the east: and they shall lay hands upon Moab first; and the
children of Ammon shall first obey them.”1513
52. In those times, then, he shall arise and
meet them. And when he has overmastered three horns out of the
ten in the array of war, and has rooted these out, viz., Egypt, and
Libya, and Ethiopia, and has got their spoils and trappings, and has
brought the remaining horns which suffer into subjection, he will begin
to be lifted up in heart, and to exalt himself against God as master of
the whole world. And his first expedition will be against Tyre
and Berytus, and the circumjacent territory. For by storming
these cities first he will strike terror into the others, as Isaiah
says, “Be thou ashamed, O Sidon; the sea hath spoken, even the
strength of the sea hath spoken, saying, I travailed not, nor brought
forth children; neither did I nurse up young men, nor bring up
virgins. But when the report comes to Egypt, pain shall seize
them for Tyre.”1514
53. These things, then, shall be in the
future, beloved; and when the three horns are cut off, he will begin to
show himself as God, as Ezekiel has said aforetime:
“Because thy heart has been lifted up, and thou hast said, I am
God.”1515 And to the
like effect Isaiah says: “For thou hast said in thine
heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the
stars of heaven: I will be like the Most High. Yet now thou
shalt be brought down to hell (Hades), to the foundations of the
earth.”1516 In like
manner also Ezekiel: “Wilt thou yet say to those who slay
thee, I am God? But thou (shalt be) a man, and no
God.”1517
54. As his tribe, then, and his
manifestation, and his destruction, have been set forth in these words,
and as his name has also been indicated mystically, let us look also at
his action. For he will call together all the people to himself,
out of every country of the dispersion, making them his own, as though
they were his own children, and promising to restore their country, and
establish again their kingdom and nation, in order that he may be
worshipped by them as God, as the prophet says: “He will
collect his whole kingdom, from the rising of the sun even to its
setting: they whom he summons and they whom he does not summon
shall march with him.”1518
1518
Quoted already in chap. xv. as from one of the prophets. | And Jeremiah speaks of him thus in
a parable: “The partridge cried, (and) gathered what he did
not hatch, making himself riches without judgment: in the midst
of his days they shall leave him, and at his end he shall be a
fool.”1519
55. It will not be detrimental, therefore, to the
course of our present argument, if we explain the art of that creature, and show that
the prophet has not spoken1520
1520 Reading
ἀπεφήνατο for
ἀπεκρίνατο. |
without a purpose in using the parable (or similitude) of the
creature. For as the partridge is a vainglorious creature, when
it sees near at hand the nest of another partridge with young in it,
and with the parent-bird away on the wing in quest of food, it imitates
the cry of the other bird, and calls the young to itself; and they,
taking it to be their own parent, run to it. And it delights
itself proudly in the alien pullets as in its own. But when the
real parent-bird returns, and calls them with its own familiar cry, the
young recognise it, and forsake the deceiver, and betake themselves to
the real parent. This thing, then, the prophet has adopted as a
simile, applying it in a similar manner to Antichrist. For he
will allure mankind to himself, wishing to gain possession of those who
are not his own, and promising deliverance to all, while he is unable
to save himself.
56. He then, having gathered to himself the
unbelieving everywhere throughout the world, comes at their call to
persecute the saints, their enemies and antagonists, as the apostle and
evangelist says: “There was in a city a judge, which feared
not God, neither regarded man: and there was a widow in that
city, who came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And
he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself,
Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth
me, I will avenge her.”1521
57. By the unrighteous judge, who fears not
God, neither regards man, he means without doubt Antichrist, as he is a
son of the devil and a vessel of Satan. For when he has the
power, he will begin to exalt himself against God, neither in truth
fearing God, nor regarding the Son of God, who is the Judge of
all. And in saying that there was a widow in the city, he refers
to Jerusalem itself, which is a widow indeed, forsaken of her perfect,
heavenly spouse, God. She calls Him her adversary, and not her
Saviour; for she does not understand that which was said by the prophet
Jeremiah: “Because they obeyed not the truth, a spirit of
error shall speak then to this people and to Jerusalem.”1522 And Isaiah
also to the like effect: “Forasmuch as the people refuseth
to drink the water of Siloam that goeth softly, but chooseth to have
Rasin and Romeliah’s son as king over you: therefore, lo,
the Lord bringeth up upon you the water of the river, strong and full,
even the king of Assyria.”1523 By the king he means metaphorically
Antichrist, as also another prophet saith: “And this man
shall be the peace from me, when the Assyrian shall come up into your
land, and when he shall tread in your mountains.”1524
1524
Mic. v. 5. The Septuagint reads αὐτῇ = And (he) shall be
the peace to it. Hippolytus follows the Hebrew, but makes the
pronoun feminine, αὕτη referring to the peace.
Again Hippolytus reads ὄρη =
mountains, where the Septuagint has χώραν = land, and where the
Hebrew word = fortresses or palaces. [He must mean that
“the Assyrian” = Antichrist. “The peace”
is attributable only to the “Prince of peace.” So the
Fathers generally.] |
58. And in like manner Moses, knowing
beforehand that the people would reject and disown the true Saviour of
the world, and take part with error, and choose an earthly king, and
set the heavenly King at nought, says: “Is not this laid up
in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures? In the day of
vengeance I will recompense (them), and in the time when their foot
shall slide.”1525 They did slide, therefore, in all
things, as they were found to be in harmony with the truth in
nothing: neither as concerns the law, because they became
transgressors; nor as concerns the prophets, because they cut off even
the prophets themselves; nor as concerns the voice of the Gospels,
because they crucified the Saviour Himself; nor in believing the
apostles, because they persecuted them. At all times they showed
themselves enemies and betrayers of the truth, and were found to be
haters of God, and not lovers of Him; and such they shall be then when
they find opportunity: for, rousing themselves against the
servants of God, they will seek to obtain vengeance by the hand of a
mortal man. And he, being puffed up with pride by their
subserviency, will begin to despatch missives against the saints,
commanding to cut them all off everywhere, on the ground of their
refusal to reverence and worship him as God, according to the word of
Esaias: “Woe to the wings of the vessels of the
land,1526
1526
οὐαὶ
γῆς πλοίων
πτέρυγες. | beyond the rivers
of Ethiopia: (woe to him) who sendeth sureties by the sea, and
letters of papyrus (upon the water; for nimble messengers will go) to a
nation1527 anxious and
expectant, and a people strange and bitter against them; a nation
hopeless and trodden down.”1528
59. But we who hope for the Son of God are
persecuted and trodden down by those unbelievers. For the
wings of the vessels are the churches; and the sea is the world,
in which the Church is set, like a ship tossed in the deep, but not
destroyed; for she has with her the skilled Pilot, Christ. And
she bears in her midst also the trophy (which is erected) over death;
for she carries with her the cross of the Lord.1529
1529
Wordsworth, reading ὡς
ἱστὸν for
ὡς τὸν, would add, like a
mast. See his Commentary on Acts xxvii. 40. | For her prow is the east, and her
stern is the west, and her hold1530
1530
κύτος, a
conjecture of Combefisius for κύκλον. | is the south, and her tillers are the two Testaments; and the
ropes that stretch around her are the love of Christ, which binds the
Church; and the net1531
1531
λίνον,
proposed by the same for πλοῖον, boat. |
which she bears with her is the laver of the regeneration which renews
the believing, whence too are these glories. As the wind the
Spirit from heaven is present, by whom those who believe are
sealed: she has also anchors of iron accompanying her, viz., the
holy commandments of Christ Himself, which are strong as iron.
She has also mariners on the right and on the left, assessors like the
holy angels, by whom the Church is always governed and defended.
The ladder in her leading up to the sailyard is an emblem of the
passion of Christ, which brings the faithful to the ascent of
heaven. And the top-sails1532
1532
ψηφαροι, a term of
doubtful meaning. May it refer to the καρχήσια? | aloft1533
1533 The
text reads here αἰνούμενοι,
for which αἱρούμενοι
is proposed, or better, ἠωρούμενοι. | upon the yard are the company of
prophets, martyrs, and apostles, who have entered into their rest in
the kingdom of Christ.
60. Now, concerning the tribulation of the
persecution which is to fall upon the Church from the adversary, John
also speaks thus: “And I saw a great and wondrous sign in
heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and
upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And she, being with child,
cries, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And the
dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to
devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a
man-child, who is to rule all the nations: and the child was
caught up unto God and to His throne. And the woman fled into the
wilderness, where she hath the place prepared of God, that they should
feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And
then when the dragon saw it, he persecuted the woman which
brought forth the man-child. And to the woman were given
two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness,
where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the
face of the serpent. And the serpent cast (out of his mouth water
as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away
of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and opened her
mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast) out of his
mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make
war with the saints of her seed, which keep the commandments of God,
and have the testimony of Jesus.”1534
61. By the woman then clothed with the
sun,” he meant most manifestly the Church, endued with the
Father’s word,1535
1535
τὸν
Λόγον τὸν
Πατρῷον. |
whose brightness is above the sun. And by the “moon under
her feet” he referred to her being adorned, like the moon, with
heavenly glory. And the words, “upon her head a crown of
twelve stars,” refer to the twelve apostles by whom the Church
was founded. And those, “she, being with child, cries,
travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered,” mean that the
Church will not cease to bear from her heart1536 the Word that is persecuted by the
unbelieving in the world. “And she brought forth,” he
says, “a man-child, who is to rule all the nations;” by
which is meant that the Church, always bringing forth Christ, the
perfect man-child of God, who is declared to be God and man, becomes
the instructor of all the nations. And the words, “her
child was caught up unto God and to His throne,” signify that he
who is always born of her is a heavenly king, and not an earthly; even
as David also declared of old when he said, “The Lord said unto
my Lord, Sit Thou at my right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy
footstool.”1537
“And the dragon,” he says, “saw and persecuted the
woman which brought forth the man-child. And to the woman
were given two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the
wilderness, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a
time, from the face of the serpent.”1538 That refers to the one thousand
two hundred and threescore days (the half of the week) during which the
tyrant is to reign and persecute the Church,1539
1539
[Concerning Antichrist, two advents, etc., see vol. iv. p. 219, this
series.] | which flees from city to city, and seeks
concealment in the wilderness among the mountains, possessed of no
other defence than the two wings of the great eagle, that is to say,
the faith of Jesus Christ, who, in stretching forth His holy hands on
the holy tree, unfolded two wings, the right and the left, and called
to Him all who believed upon Him, and covered them as a hen her
chickens. For by the mouth of Malachi also He speaks thus:
“And unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness
arise with healing in His wings.”1540
62. The Lord also says, “When ye shall see
the abomination of desolation stand in the holy place (whoso readeth,
let him understand), then let them which be in Judea flee into the
mountains, and let him which is on the housetop not come down to take
his clothes; neither let him which is in the field return back to take
anything out of his house. And woe unto them that are with child,
and to them that give suck, in those days! for then shall be great
tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world.
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.”1541
1541
Matt. xxiv. 15–22; Mark
xiii. 14–20; Luke xxi. 20–23. | And Daniel
says, “And they shall place the abomination of desolation a
thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth,
and cometh to the thousand two hundred and ninety-five
days.”1542
63. And the blessed Apostle Paul, writing to
the Thessalonians, says: “Now we beseech you, brethren,
concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering
together at it,1543
1543
Hippolytus reads here ἐπ᾽
αὐτῆς instead of ἐπ᾽
αὐτόν, and makes the pronoun
therefore refer to the coming. | that ye be
not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by
word, nor by letters as from us, as that the day of the Lord is at
hand. Let no man deceive you by any means; for (that day shall
not come) except there come the falling away first, and that man of sin
be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is worshipped: so that he
sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
Remember ye not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these
things? And now ye know what withholdeth, that he might be
revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already
work; only he who now letteth (will let), until he be taken out of the
way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus
shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of His coming: (even him) whose coming is after the
working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and
with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because
they received not the love of the truth. And for this cause God
shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness.”1544 And Esaias says, “Let the
wicked be cut off, that he behold not the glory of the
Lord.”1545
64. These things, then, being to come to
pass, beloved, and the one week being divided into two parts, and the
abomination of desolation being manifested then, and the two prophets
and forerunners of the Lord having finished their course, and the whole
world finally approaching the consummation, what remains but the coming
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ from heaven, for whom we have
looked in hope? who shall bring the conflagration and just judgment
upon all who have refused to believe on Him. For the Lord says,
“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and
lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”1546 “And
there shall not a hair of your head perish.”1547 “For as the lightning cometh
out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the
coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is,
there will the eagles be gathered together.”1548 Now the fall1549
1549 The
word πτῶμα, used in the Greek as =
carcase, is thus interpreted by Hippolytus as = fall, which is its
literal sense. | took place in paradise; for Adam fell
there. And He says again, “Then shall the Son of man send
His angels, and they shall gather together His elect from the four
winds of heaven.”1550 And David also, in announcing
prophetically the judgment and coming of the Lord, says, “His
going forth is from the end of the heaven, and His circuit unto the end
of the heaven: and there is no one hid from the heat
thereof.”1551 By the
heat he means the conflagration. And Esaias speaks thus:
“Come, my people, enter thou into thy chamber, (and) shut thy
door: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the
indignation of the Lord be overpast.”1552 And Paul in like manner:
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth of God in
unrighteousness.”1553
65. Moreover, concerning the resurrection
and the kingdom of the saints, Daniel says, “And many of them
that sleep in the dust of the earth shall arise, some to everlasting
life, (and some to shame and everlasting contempt).”1554 Esaias says,
“The dead men shall arise, and they that are in their tombs shall
awake; for the dew from thee is healing to them.”1555 The Lord
says, “Many in that day shall hear the voice of the Son of God,
and they that hear shall live.”1556 And the prophet says, “Awake,
thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee
light.”1557
1557
Eph. v. 14. Epiphanius and others suppose
that the words thus cited by Paul are taken from the apocryphal
writings of Jeremiah: others that they are a free version of
Isa. lx. 1. [But their metrical form
justifies the criticism that they are a quotation from a hymn of the
Church, based, very likely, on the passage from Isaiah.] | And John
says, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first
resurrection: on such the second death hath no
power.”1558 For the
second death is the lake of fire that burneth. And again the Lord
says, “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun shineth in
his glory.”1559 And to
the saints He will say, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world.”1560 But what
saith He to the wicked? “Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels, which my
Father hath prepared.” And John says,
“Without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and
murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever maketh and loveth a lie; for
your part is in the hell of fire.”1561 And in like manner also Esaias:
“And they shall go forth and look upon the carcases of the men
that have transgressed against me. And their worm shall not die,
neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be for a spectacle
to all flesh.”1562
66. Concerning the resurrection of the
righteous, Paul also speaks thus in writing to the Thessalonians:
“We would not have you to be ignorant concerning them which are
asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope. For
if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which
sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you
by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive (and) remain unto the
coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. For
the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
and trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then
we which are alive (and) remain shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with
the Lord.”1563
67. These things, then, I have set shortly
before thee, O Theophilus, drawing them from Scripture
itself,1564
1564 [The
immense value of these quotations, authenticating the Revelations and
other Scriptures, must be apparent. Is not this treatise a voice
to our own times of vast significance?] | in order that,
maintaining in faith what is written, and anticipating the things that
are to be, thou mayest keep thyself void of offence both toward God and
toward men, “looking for that blessed hope and appearing of our
God and Saviour,”1565
when, having raised the saints among us, He will rejoice with them,
glorifying the Father. To Him be the glory unto the endless ages
of the ages. Amen.
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